WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU
ON?
Life is a battle. It is a struggle. It is filled with
conflict.
I am
sorry if this sounds pessimistic, but the reality is that we have battles in
our daily life, great and small battles. Some of you are battling an expanding waistline.
If that sounds minor, consider the inner conflict you feel when you are trying
to eat healthy salad while the fellow next to you is eating KFC chicken. There
is spiritual warfare even in this.
The
greater conflicts involve life and death. Robin Williams took his own life this
week after a life-long struggle with drugs, poor self-image and depression.
There are many who are impacted by the comedian’s death. If a man of seemingly
limitless humor and mirth becomes so despondent as to take his own life, what
hope is there for others? In retrospect I have often thought that Williams was
a rather sad man behind all that craziness. His off-the-charts antics were a
mask for pain. "Cocaine," Williams said, "was God's way of saying you are making too much money."
So
whether your battles are great or small, they are battles nevertheless; they
are your battles. No one can stand in your shoes truly and know what you
struggle with in life. Your battles are incomparable to what others go through.
And the truth is, whether it is a struggle with food or a battle with the
meaning of your life, all are spiritual conflicts. Each one colors what you
think of God, God’s world, and your place in it.
One of
the questions we might ask, especially as believers, is this: Whose side is God
on when we face our troubles? Some days it doesn’t seem like he is on our side.
Is he on our side? Is he just a bystander? Is he the one pressing us with these
trials? The answer comes in this text, Joshua 5.
Once you
have consented that life is a battle, there are two things we need to do as we
face the enemy. One is to get ready for the battle. Two is to know who is
really in command.
Are you
ready to accept the keys to spiritual victory?
1. Getting ready for the battle
After 40 years of wandering in the desert due to a lack
of trust in God’s plan, the children of Israel were preparing to take the
Promised Land. Moses was dead; Joshua was now leader. God had given Joshua his
blessing and the charge to be “strong and courageous.” Now they stood on the
cusp of invading the Land. But first there were four things they needed to
consider:
a) Figure out the
Fear Factor – You know that I have read about countless battles in history.
What I have discerned from them is that the greatest element in any defeat was
fear. That fear factor has led to disastrous decisions over and over. Does the
enemy outnumber us? Do they have better weapons? Fear defeats people before
they even engage the fight.
In this
story, fear is the enemy’s enemy. Rumors had whipped across the Jordan to the
kings about how the LORD had dried up the Jordan so the Israelites could cross.
Now, “their hearts melted in fear”
and “they no longer had courage,” (5:1).
b) Get right with
God – Before taking advantage of this fear, Joshua had all the men
circumcised (2-9). There were two reasons for this minor surgery. One was that
the men of military age who left Egypt had disobeyed God when he originally
told them to go and take the PL. God made them wander until those men had died
in the wilderness. In the meantime, the children born during the wandering were
never circumcised. Circumcision was a special mark that this people belonged to
God. And two, heading into a land where idolatry involved sexual immorality it
was especially important that these warriors be marked as being set apart for
God. It was an act of faith and spiritual preparation.
It was a
tactical risk but one of faith as well. You see, the Israelites had crossed the
river and then performed the circumcision. While they healed they were sitting
ducks for the enemy. Risky yes, but a great act of faith in God’s plan.
Essential
to our spiritual victory in life is our understanding that in Christ,
all our enemies are defeated foes (Colossians
2:11-14).
c) Celebrate God’s
faithfulness – After the mass circumcision, the people celebrated Passover
(10). Eating the Passover meal was a commemoration of how God delivered them
from the slavery of Egypt. The significance of this was huge: Just as the
crossing of the Red Sea was followed by the destruction of the Egyptians, so
also after crossing the Jordan, the Lord had promised the defeat of the
Canaanites. So remembering the past became an excellent preparation of faith
for the tests of the future.
We can
see the parallels of communion for us today. Eating the bread and the juice
helps us to remember the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for us. We remember
his victory is ours and that we are completely forgiven. At the same time, Paul
tells us that we participate in communion, proclaiming the Lord’s death “until he comes,” (1 Cor 11:26).
Christ’s past victory promises future victory for us.
d) Be ready for
the change – As the children of Israel ate the Passover something
life-changing happened: the manna stopped the next day (5:12). God had been
feeding them miraculously with bread from heaven. Now was they ate the Passover
and ate of the produce of the land, there was no turning back. This may have
been scary at first glance, but it really underlined the fact that God was
going to bless them with their own land flowing with good things.
There is
a mythical story in history about a man named Cortez who ordered his men to
burn their ships. They had sailed from Spain to conquer Mexico in 1519. In
order to motivate them to go forward, he had them burn their ships. There was
no going back; it was conquer or die trying.
Both of
these stories illustrate a reality with God: Once you commit to God’s plan
there is no going back. There is no need. We can trust him and move forward
without looking back. Think of the Israelites sitting on a flood-level
riverbank and looking to Jericho. Walking with God is like that.
2. Know Who’s in Command
I picture Joshua on a cool night, walking out under the
stars, facing the lamplights of Jericho, and thinking, “How are we going to
take that city?” They had swords, spears and slings; they didn’t have siege
engines to take down the walls. A lot of responsibility hung on Joshua’s
shoulders. And then out of the darkness, a warrior with a drawn sword
approaches him.
a) Who is this
warrior? Seeing this man with a drawn sword would have been alarming.
Joshua might have reached for his own sword. The stance of the warrior
suggested he was ready to fight. But for who? And who was he?
In v. 14
he tells Joshua that he is “commander of the army of the LORD,” or “Captain of
the Host,” as it says in other versions. What is really shocking is that Joshua
falls down to worship this man and the man does not discourage him. Actually,
if he were merely a man or an angel, he would have repelled the worship. Paul
and Barnabas in Acts 14 freak out when the people want to worship them and tell
them to stop. And when John the Revelator goes to worship an angel in
Revelation 19:10 and again in 22:9, the angel says, “Don’t do it! I am a fellow servant.”
The only
answer to the identity of this warrior is that it is what we call a theophany,
a manifestation of God. Some would even call it a Christophany. That means they
believe that it is the pre-Bethlehem Jesus, who, as the Word (John 1:1) is the
One who reveals God. That’s why he doesn’t stop Joshua from worshiping. Is this
Jesus? Some say it was Jesus in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego.
b) Are you for us
or against us? That’s a fair question when you meet someone whose sword is
drawn. However, Joshua’s question reveals a mindset we all have when we are
faced with difficulties, “Are you for us
or for our enemies?” (5:13b).
What is
this mindset? Well, we are a sort of people that like to be in control of our
destinies and even of our problems. So we see the battles that we face as our
battles and the forces that stand opposed against us. Our causes, our concerns,
our agendas and even our spiritual convictions are threatened at times. We own
our problems and believe wholeheartedly that we are the only ones who can solve
our problems.
If
someone, including the Lord, wants to help us – bonus. But in all likelihood we
are convinced that these helpers will only assist us, not fix the issue. No,
the responsibility rests with me, myself, we say.
c) It’s His War
– That is not the answer that Joshua receives, and it is not the truth where
Christ’s followers are concerned. Joshua asked, “Are you for us or against us?”
And the Warrior answers, “Neither!”
In the
past, my impression of this answer is that the stranger was just there to
observe. Not so. The meaning of this answer is that God did not come to take
sides, but to take over and take charge as Commander of the Lord’s Armies. It’s
his war, not Joshua’s. So the real question is aimed at Joshua: Whose side are
you on? Are you on the Lord’s side? (Refer to story in 2 Chronicles 20:15-17;
battle is not yours but God’s)
We can
learn two things from this moment. One, it is neither our place nor our right
to claim God’s allegiance for our battles or causes or agendas. We may think
that we are in the right and that our cause is just but still not have the
right perspective of God’s place in it. Instead of trying to get God on our
side we need to check to make sure we are on God’s side. Joshua had to swallow
some pride perhaps and acknowledge that God’s claim over Joshua was far
greater.
Secondly,
the theophany or Christophany reminded Joshua that God was with him. Both God’s
personal presence and limitless provision were with Joshua in the coming
battle. You do not need own these battles you face; you are fighting a battle
that belongs to the Lord and so he will go before you into the fight. It’s his
war, not yours.
d) Responding
appropriately – Joshua’s response to the realization that this is the Lord
Himself is to fall down and worship him.
Joshua
had seen from a human perspective that this was a war between the Israelites
and the Canaanites. Now his eyes were opened to a larger reality, that this was
a spiritual conflict between Holy God and ungodly darkness.
Whether
we face the battle of the bulge (dieting) or something more serious like
cancer, it is often beyond us to see the spiritual aspect of such earthy and
human conflicts. How can we declare that these things are too unspiritual for
God to bother about? How do we know that there is not something greater
happening beyond our comprehension? How do we know that God cannot bring glory
for himself out of our suffering and fighting? If it is his battle then he must
know what he is doing. And when we realize our position before God in this great
struggle, all we can do is worship him.
Joshua
may have been reminded of what the Lord said to Moses when the Israelites were
cornered at the Red Sea, “The LORD will
fight for you; you need only be still,” (Ex 14:14). You need only be still…
e) Standing on
Holy Ground – Joshua had come face to face with the commander of the army
of the Lord. As he worshiped him he asked, “What
message does my Lord have for his servant?” (5:14a).
He
replied, “Take off your sandals, for the
place where you are standing is holy,” (5:15). To stand at Ground Zero in
New York or at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland would require some sort
of quiet reverence. Those are places of tragedy and require somber thought.
That’s not what this is.
This is
Holy Ground because the Lord is there, because the One who created the universe
is appearing before you. Holy Ground is where you meet with God and realize how
small you are and how great God is.
Take off
your shoes. This is a sign of respect and submission. Take off your shoes. You
are before your Holy God. “We can only enter into the battle so that we
experience God’s deliverance when we remove our sandals and submit to his
authority and his presence and power.”[i]
Joshua was a man of noble character and godly faith. It
is no wonder that Jesus was named after him. Y’shua is the Hebrew; Jesus is the
Aramaic form of Joshua. The name means “God saves.” God saves!
Each of
us is in some sort of battle. Together, as the church, we battle against the
encroaching culture of our times that wants to water us down and make us
benign. Individually and together, we are in a battle.
Joshua 5
is a wonderful template for preparing us to fight on God’s side. The template
of this chapter offers us a few things to think about and apply:
First,
ask yourself if there is something in your life that you need to get right with
God. Circumcision represented setting yourself apart for God. Is there a reason
why you have not been baptized? Have you promised God something that is yet
unfulfilled? Do you need to change an attitude or lifestyle? To prepare for
battle a soldier first checks his equipment. In the same way our hearts must be
set in order before the fight.
Second,
recognize the commander is the Lord Jesus. He will not leave you nor forsake
you. He goes before you and has walked the path of suffering you now walk.
Jesus knows your struggle.
Third,
remember that your battle is really the Lord’s battle. You cannot win it on
your own. The battle belongs to the Lord. Jesus took the written code that was
against us and nailed it to the cross. What is there that stands opposed to you
today that God cannot overcome for your sake? Believe in the Lord Jesus.
As a
benediction let’s conclude with Romans 8:31-39.
AMEN
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